schengnz

Due to the 3D nature, it is very hard to mock up with a few pieces of paper.

One thing to note is that the Glove80 thumb cluster plane is at a very different location and angle, compared to the the Kinesis Advantage thumb cluster plane. In fact the Glove80 thumb cluster plane is much lower and slant down gently (nowhere as much as DM) towards the opposite half. OTOH the KA thumb cluster sits significantly higher than the keywell.

Due to the thumb plane difference, "the glove80 cluster placement forces my hand on a higher position and requires the thumb to stretch more" is not the case in reality for me.

That's an incredibly in-depth review, especially w.r.t ergomomics comparison. I don't think I have seen any ergonomic keyboard review like that. Thanks.

Glove80 is superficially similar to Kinesis Advantage360 and Dactyl Manuform. This article deep dives into the main design decisions and how they came to be.

A small group of us (Kiwi software geeks) have been working on this series of split contoured keyboards for the last 6 years. We all had RSI, and all were intimately familiar with Kinesis Advantage. Although Kinesis Advantage was the best ergonomic keyboard in the market 6 years ago, we were not entirely happy and we decided to make our “perfect” split contoured keyboard.

The foundational ergonomic design of Glove80 was finalized about 5 years ago. It is the result of 500+ ergonomics A/B test experiments and prototypes. We had to come up with an innovative prototyping process to make this number of tests possible; which is documented at [1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/repetitive-strain-injury-rsi-...

Although it’s superficially similar to the upcoming split Advantage360 (based on published renders, ergonomically appears to be based on Advantage/Advantage2), during the development of Glove80, we re-think, re-evaluate, and re-invent every part of the contoured keyboard. Some of these ergonomic changes are subtle but some are more obvious. Here are some examples:

- The thumb cluster is an innovative curved 2-row 6 key design, with each row at a different height. All 6 thumb keys are easily accessible

- The pinkie columns have been completely redesigned so that they work for people with short pinkies and long pinkies

- The top row keys are new, but are easily accessible for the majority of users

- The bottom row keys are made easier to reach and press

- The outer index column keys are easier to reach and press

[2] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ergonomic-design-glove80-spli... gives an overview of the Glove80 ergonomic design

Other key features of Glove80 - Glove80 is wireless (Bluetooth LE)

- Glove80 has 80 accessible keys, including the F-keys

- Glove80 is designed to be travel friendly. It is compact and light. The palm rest can be detached. Glove80 is 600g, compared with Advantage360's 1.45kg

- Glove80 is low profile. The top of the keycap of the lowest key sits only 20mm off the table. Low-profile is important for ergonomics and allows Glove80 to fit a wider range of desk heights

- Glove80 has a continuously adjustable tenting system; Advantage360 has 3 tenting positions

- All keys on Glove80 share the same keycap profile, which means the labelled keycaps can be freely rearranged to suit different layouts, including Colemak and DVORAK.

- Glove80 provides options for linear, tactile and clicky switches

- If you want to choose a different type of keyswitch, Glove80 has a switches-not-soldered option

- Glove80 supports custom mounting

- Glove80 has individually addressable RGB LEDs beneath the keys

- Glove80’s PCB has break out for 4 GPIO lines for electronic hackers to extend the hardware features

- Opensource ZMK

Please also see [3] https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/933641217596604426/93... for further comparisons between Glove80 and other ergonomic keyboards, including Moonlander and Advantage360.